Lubricating device



July 311, 1923., 31,463,765

R. T. NEWTON LUBRIGATING DEVICE Filed Dec. 8, 1919 Ell ll utented duly Kill,

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fEtTG'EAR-D T. "NEWTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

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Application filed December 8, 191-9. Serial. No. 13,213.

I all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, RICHARD T. NEWTON, a citizen ofthe United States of America, residing in the city, county, and State or New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricating D'evices, of which the following is a specification.

My. inventionv relates ti. lubricating devices, and particularly to alubricating de vice intended to be mounted on parts subject to vibration, the Object of my invention being to provide a simple and economical lubricating device which automatically feeds when the parts are in motion, and automatically halts its feed when the parts are at rest.

In the accompanying drawings- Fig. 1 is a broken side elevation of an automobile shock eliminator to which my invention is applied in one form;

Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation of the oil reservoir;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a spring pin 7 to which my invention is applied in another form; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a modified construction of the latter.

Whilemy invention may be applied to various mechanisms, 1 have, for the sake of illustration, shown it applied to certain joints of an automobile. In this, as in all mechanisms, it is necessary to lubricate bearings, etc., only when the apparatus is in action, and it is desirable to halt the feed when the apparatus is at rest. Various oiling devices have heretofore been proposed to accomplish this, but they have involved more or less complicated appliances, difficult to keep in proper working condition, and often dificult to recharge, while it is a common fault that the flow of the lubricant is not halted when the apparatus is at rest, but continues to feed with resultant waste of the lubricant. l have provided a very simple lubricating system,

in which the feed results from the motion of thepart which carries the oil reservoir, and automatically ceases when the parts are at rest. I

lln Figs. 1 and 2 l'have shown the invention applied to the lubrication of the joints of an automobile shock absorber of the type illustrated in my Patent No. 1,329,998, l ebruary 3, 1920.

The casing 13- of the shock absorber is mounted by a bracket 6 on the end of the chassis side bar 7. At its top the casing is closed by a cap 8 which sleeves upon the main casing 5. Within is housed a load spring 9 which bears at its upper end against the cap 8, and at its lower end against a diaphragm 10 jointed at 11 to the head of the bar 12. At its lower end the latter is jointed at 13 to the lever 14:. The re- 65 bound spring 15 is interposed between the, lower face of the diaphragm 10 and the shoulder 16 at the foot of the casing 5. The bumper supporting arm 17 is hinged at 18 to the casing 5 and has a bell crank 19 70 which engages an eye in the lower end of the connecting rod 20. This rod passes upwardwithin the springs and terminates in a screw 21 taking into the adjusting nut 22. The latter bears upon the cap 8 and not only serves as the means for adjusting the tension of the springs 9 and 15,- but transmits to the spring 9 (through the sliding cap 8, connecting rod and bellcranlr. 19) the impact thrusts against the bumper carried by the bumper arm 17.

In addition to its functions above described, the nut 22, according to my present invention, serves also as a reservoir for the oil 23, which lubricates all of the joints of the eliminator. For this purpose the upper end of the nut is made hollow to afi'ord a chamber 24, and a removable fill cap 25 is provided which screws on the nipple 26 at the top of the nut and hermetically seals the top of the reservoir chamber. A washer 27 may be provided to render this seal air tight, but this is not ordinarily necessary. From the lower end of the reservoir chamher 2% ll open a minute passage 28 to the exterior of the nut, through which the oil may escape. Un its escape it flows down the shank of the nut to the threaded area 21 of the connecting rod 20 and enters an annular channel 29 formed in the head of the rod 20 at its junction with the screw 21. From this ring channel 29 I open a lateral channel to the drip point 30, which overlies the head of the rod 12, so that the oil dripping from the point 30 lubricates the joint 11. A channel 81 formed in the rod 12 leads surplus oil from the joint 11 to the pivot pin 13 by which the rod is jointed to the lever 1 1. A second channel is opened from the ring channel 29 and is carried down the shanlr of the connecting rod 20 to its joint with the bell crank 19. A. channel 33 in llll llbb

the latter leads the oil from-this point to the hinge joint 18 between the base of the cape therefrom unless the vacuum in the;

upper. portion of the reservoir chamber is broken. I rely upon the vibration to which the parts-are subjected to effect this action.-

Thus, when the car is traveling there is a constant vertical reciprocation due to inequalities in the roadway, and this vibration is transmitted'directly to the shock absorber casing. through the main vehicle spring 34. Each upward throw of the casing, followed by its rapid drop, causes the column of oil 23 in the reservoir 24 to act asa piston, which sucks in through the minute hole 28 a small quantity of air, and this, passing up through the oil, lowers the vacuum in the upper portion of the casing sufiiciently to permit a drop of oil to escape by gravity through the same passage 28. The size of the hole 28 is exaggerated in the drawing. It must be quite minute in order to prevent too free a flow of the oil.- If desired, a regulating valve can be used at this point, but I have found that it is not necessary if. the opening 28 be made sufiiciently small. Obv1ously-when there is no motion imparted to the casing, as when the car is at rest, the

vacuum'at the top of the chamber 24 prevents the oil from escaping at 28, and thus automatically halts the flow. .The feed of oil is consequently limited to the period dur-' ing which the car is in motion. It is only at this time,'or course, that lubrication is needed.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated the same thought applied to the joint between the lever 14 and the vehicle spring 34 at the spring pin 35. The latter has at its end a tapped recess 36 which opens to the angled assage 37 leadingto the outer bearing sur-' ace of the pin. Screwed into the tap 36 is a nipple 38 at the lowerend of the oil cup 39, which is provided with a screw seal cap 40. In the neck of the nipple 38 an air inlet hole 41 is formed which 0 ens to the oil passage through the nipple. he oil in the reservoir is prevented from escaping through this upper art 0 the oil chamber. When the 011 in t e reservoir is thrown upward, however, by the oscillation of the vehicle spring, a small quantity of air is sucked in at 41, the vacuum artially broken, and a dro of oil permitted to escape through the lubricating passage 37. If desired 'a regulating screw 42 may be provided to vary the diam- .eter of the passage 37, and if this screw be placed opposite the hole 41 the area of the passage by the vacuum int-he air 1 inlet may be simultaneously regulated. In the modified construction shown in Fi 4 a plunger 43 carries a valve 44, which is pressed by spring 45 to the 'seat'46 surrounding a fill aperture in the top of the reservoir. When the valve is depressed to permit the reservoir to be filled, the'plunger obstructs the opening 47 which connects the reservoir with the outlet passage 48 in the stemwhich terminates in the screw nip ple 38.

In all the constructions, and these are but illustrative embodiments of the invention,

the oil is suspended in the reservoir by a vacuumin the upper portion thereof, and the vacuum is broken by the admissionof a small quantity of air to the lower portion of the reservoir and below the oil level by reason of the upward throw of the oil in the reservoir as a result of the vibration of the part to which the reservoir is attached.

trated, and moreover, the specific detail of construction shown may be variously modified without departing from what I claim as my invention.

1. In a shock eliminator, a casing, a hollow nut at the top thereof forming an oil reservoir, members arranged within saidcasing, and means for lubricating said members from the reservoir in the nut. v

2. In a shock eliminator, a casing, an abutment member movable in said casing, a link jointed thereto, an oil reservoir carried -by the casing above the joint and means for feeding oil therefrom to said joint only when the eliminator is in action.

3. Ina shock eliminator, a casing, an abutment member movable in said casing, a lever pivoted at one end to the casing, a link connecting saidlever and abutment, an oil reservoir in the headof the casing and means for feed'in oil therefrom to the joint between the dc eliminator is in action.

4. In a shock eliminator, a casing, an abutment member movable in said casing, a lever pivoted at one endto the casing, a link connecting said lever and abutment, an oil reservoir. in the head of the casing and means for feeding oil therefrom to the joint between the lever and link only when the eliminatoris in action.

5. In a shock eliminator, a casing, an abutment member movable in said casing, a lever pivoted at one end to the casing, a link connecting said lever and abutment, an oilreservoir in the head. of the casing and ver and casing only when the reeenee l 8' means for feeding oil therefrom to the ed members associated therewith, a, top joints between the lever and the casing and sealed oil reservoir carried by the upper p01- the link only when the eliminator is in sction of the casing, and an oil escape passage tion. i below the oil level through which the oil 5 6. In a shock eliminator, a casing, a, cap passes to the said joints when the vacuum in 115 therefor, jointed members associated with said reservoir is broken by the vibration of 7 said eliminator, an oil reservoir carried by the casin said cap, and means for lubricating the said In testimony whereof I have signed my joint therefrom. name to this specification.

W 7. In a shock eliminator, a casing, joint- RICHARD 'l. NEQN. I 

